Daily Republican., 1887-04-09

U0lss - oecouu Class mail mattefs
suEoW later state Commerce Acts.
II y not i'm pr ,bAble that the Inter
Dtnte Com merce Law may stand but a
vRy nhort time. Trouble was expected
hon NE 6rst, from the long and short
Ann1 Q1sstiop, in fact 1t Was this ques-
90 thet gave force and vigor to the
dsmAnd for snoh . law. Cities near
- great mArke; marta OF the country
uDmplained that they were discrimina'
~ Aeninst, because the charges fol
1k1aght were greater in proportion than
1bo0 oi1ies more distant. 1t was this
hos and CRY that created public senti-
Doat that eliminated in the passage OF
- law, and now that the law In passed
nheee II more complaint than before oil
- apparent inequality and Injustice OF
e. law. One OF the first things the
Intse-Sta Com mission has been called
1oon 10 do Ii to suspend the operation
q The long and bort haul clause OF the
lav upon certain railroads. 30 urgent
Aas been the demand OF the people upon
the lins Of those ghfares OF train
Chat II is charged that the suspension OF
- operation OF the law has been made
h violation Of the provisions OF the law.
This We fear Is but the beginning OF the
fsoable that will arise from the strict
I'D impartial operation OF the law Is 1t
xoantos to long and short hauls. The
Nv prescribes that charges shall be
unisoru, that Is that they shall bs made
according to the number OF miles trav-
oled, Az illustration of this point will
- the more properly understood by re-
1srsnce to the charges for freight upon
~ Delaware railroad. In the lower
ps1t of our State, in the Eastern shore
Of Maryland and that small part OF
Virglnia lying on the Peninsula,
Deaohes and small perishable iruit and
truck are the main productions. The
prtiit upon them depends upon the ia
Oility and swiitness with which they are
shipped to the great markets OF Pnila.
delphia. New York, B oston and other
cities. Fur the sake Of comparison let
~ taks two points upon the trunk line
Ue railway that runs from Wilmington
70 Cape Charles. Middletown is twenty
I've miles distant from Wilmington,
Laurel one hundred miles. Both are
centres Of the great peAch and fruit
moving industries. II MiddletowD
sends . carload Of peaches to Whining.
ton, she psys freightsge for twenty Ave
niles; II Laurel sends carload to the
same city she pays fret ghtage for one.
hundred miles, or for seventy. We mile:
more than is paid by Middletown.
The latter has the advantage ovel
Laurel OF three-fourths Of the freight
charges, and II su,h system Is en-
forced 1t Is not difficult to see that al
though these charges look entirely fall
npon paper, the Discrimination agains
Laurel will be 30 great that she canno
compete with Middletown, and farther
down the Peninsula the discrim nation
becomes still more oiious. II the new
law IL inter preted In this spirit, the re
suit will be crushing out OF the frui
industry OF the lower Peninsula, and
Suspension of the law by the commits
sioners only can avert the danger. In
deed, 1t looks now as II the principe
part of the business Of the InteI-S at
Commissioners will be to suspend tt
operations Of the law In order to pre-
vent business panic.
We will here ask the question in al
sincerity, What was the necessity 10
such \ anyhow? The railroad
disoriminA "a, is the answer we hear
Well, supa De thsy did, they did 1t 70
the go99H OF the community in mos
GASES. Suppose the Pail ,delphis, VIII
mington and Baltimore Railroad Com
pany did no: charge as much In pro
portion for carload OF peaches troa
Laurel As from MiddletoSn, did tha'
affect pybody injuriously? II tE'
charges were the same from Laurel al
from Middleto wn, even that only pu
both places on "a equality In compel
tive advantages. Railroad companie
are very much like individual the,
Will not discriminate to their disad vas
tase. The general history OF RAILROAD
Dom panies Is that their so-called dis
criminations have been in favor of tn
public at large.
A pars:ively leJs charge fron
Laurel and points fsrsher south has de
veloped the fruIt>industry o! that 81;
lion and brough. to the northern maj
kets the luscious peach, such as gro'
In no other section OF the country. Thi
so-cailed Discrimination brings to U
the semitic pical fruits OF the South
the cattle, beef and horses from th
West, and the tour aud lumber froI
the North west. Tne In.er-5.a.e Con
<percs law has changed this, and IL
Heople, unless the law is suspende,
~ have to pay higher prices for a
thbse products. II this is to be II
working OF the In er-S ale CONNER
law the best thing the new Congre
can do when 1t Assem- oles will be to +
peal II at once.